Many patients cannot control their head and neck muscles, and thus, cannot sit upright with their head maintained at a normal attitude. Such patients may be victims of muscular dystrophy scoliosis, cerebral palsy, aging, stroke or by other diseases or injuries, becoming paraplegic or quadriplegic. Many of these patients in nursing home situations are either allowed to lay in bed endlessly or are positioned in wheelchairs with a reclined back such that they are looking at the ceiling. Such a position can cause chronic respiratory problems in these patients because it allows saliva and mucus to drain into the throat. Such drainage can even contribute to pneumonia. Also, a common practice in many nursing homes and care facilities has been to strap the patient to a wheelchair with a cloth harness, which does not support either the head or neck and does not give the patient normal posture, but rather has them suspended in a slouch, which is not conducive to the proper functioning of organs nor, in the case of children, the proper growth of bone structure.
While numerous support systems for use with wheelchairs are available, they are typically highly specific in nature and very expensive. Further, such systems provide no support for the patient while sitting in bed or during other activities.